System for handling network transactions

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a method of enabling a computer network transaction for a product being purchased by a buyer from a seller, comprising the steps of generating a once-only transaction identification means associated with the transaction, providing the transaction identification means to a transaction acquirer, together with a buyer identification means which identifies the buyer to the transaction acquirer, and providing the once-only identification means to the seller, whereby the seller may provide the transaction identification means to the transaction acquirer and the transaction acquirer can match the transaction identification means received from the seller with the transaction identification means they have been provided with and, if they match, can enable settlement of the transaction.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method for enablingcomputer network transactions, and particularly, but not exclusively toa system and method for enabling transactions over wide area networks,such as, for example, the Internet.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

One of the major hurdles to the growth of commerce over computernetworks such as the Internet is the difficulty in obtaining payment fora transaction occurring over the network. Users of the Internet are inthe main reluctant to provide their credit card numbers over theInternet, generally because of a concern that the credit card number maybe misappropriated and used by unauthorised persons, such as network“hackers”. Even if the security risk is not as great as feared, theperception that the security risk exists is great and is effective indiscouraging Internet commerce.

There is therefore a need for a secure system for enabling computernetwork transactions, particularly for wide area networks, such as theInternet, in order to facilitate network commerce. Attempts have beenmade to provide security for transactions over computer networks such asthe Internet. These include complex encryption systems, aimed atblocking access by hackers to secure information. The problem with thesesystems is three-fold. Firstly, they are complex and can be difficult toimplement. Secondly, no matter how good the encryption system, it islikely that at some time a hacker will find a way to break it. Thirdly,they give possession of credit card numbers to sellers, who may misusethem.

Another system involves a buyer entrusting their credit details to a“go-between” broker who acts for them in handling transactions withoutrevealing to the sellers their credit card numbers. A problem with thesesystems is that brokers can only trade with a limited number ofmerchants they can trust and who are prepared to operate in a confinedsyndication with them. In effect, this sets up monopolistic enclaveswith which buyers have to deal whether they like it or not.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention provides a method of facilitating a computernetwork transaction for a product being purchased by a buyer from aseller, comprising the steps of generating a once-only transactionidentification means associated with the transaction, providing thetransaction identification means to a transaction acquirer, togetherwith a buyer identification means which identifies the buyer to thetransaction acquirer, and providing the once-only identification meansto the seller, whereby the seller may provide the transactionidentification means to the transaction acquirer and the transactionacquirer can match the transaction identification means received fromthe seller with the transaction identification means they have beenprovided with and, if they match, can enable settlement of thetransaction.

Throughout this document, by “once-only” is meant that, preferably, foreach transaction a unique transaction identification means for thattransaction is generated. For another transaction, usually a differenttransaction identification means for that transaction will be generated.

Preferably, the method can be applied to a plurality of transactions anda plurality of users. Preferably, the transaction identification meansis a different identification means for each transaction across allusers and is preferably randomly generated for each transaction acrossall users.

Preferably, the method also includes the step of the transactionacquirer being provided with a date for the transaction, and alsopreferably a time of the transaction. Preferably, date and/or time ofthe transaction information is included with the transactionidentification means provided to the transaction acquirer. Preferably,where the transaction identification means is a number, the date andtime information is included as digits additional to the transactionidentification number. This preferably guarantees unique identificationof the transaction, across all users of the method of the presentinvention.

Preferably, the transaction identification means is generated at thetime of the transaction. More preferably, it is generated in response tothe buyer indicating an intention to purchase a product. Preferably, theindication that the buyer wishes to purchase a product is provided via abuyer computing system.

Preferably, the transaction identification means is a number which maybe generated by a random number generator, such as a hit counterfacility. It is possible that once the transaction has been settled, atsome time the same number may be generated for another transaction(sometimes the same number can be generated randomly at differenttimes). That same number will still uniquely identify the differenttransaction, however, because the different transaction will occur at adifferent point in time. It is very unlikely that two transactions willbe associated with the same number over the same period of time. Theterm “once-only” should therefore be considered with this limitation inmind. As discussed above, to guarantee uniqueness, date and timeinformation may be provided to the transaction acquirer in addition tothe transaction identification means.

Throughout this document, by “product” is meant any goods or services,including software, which can be purchased by the buyer from the seller.

Throughout this document, by “computer network transaction” is meant anytransaction which may occur across a computer network, such as theInternet, and includes all types of electronic commerce transactions.

Throughout this document the term “transaction acquirer” is to be givena broader meaning than its usual meaning of a third party which acquiresa responsibility for a transaction (such as in a credit cardtransaction). The transaction acquirer may be a “trust-entity” who maybe trusted to facilitate the transaction and may be separate from atransaction acquirer, funds provider such as a bank, whom the trustentity may liaise with in order to facilitate the transaction. Thetransaction acquirer may, however, be a funds provider, such as a bank.

Preferably, the buyer identification means is a PIN or password, but canbe any number which identifies the buyer to the transaction acquirer. Insome cases, the buyer identification means may be automatically providedby a computing system associated with the buyer, for example. Atransaction acquirer may have a computing system which communicates withthe buyer computing system and automatically identifies the buyercomputing system from the communication. The buyer identification meansis preferably an identification means which is personal to the buyer,however, such as a PIN or a password. This would enable the buyer toenter into transactions in accordance with the method of the presentinvention from any computing device. Further, this would prevent anotherperson using the buyer computer to fraudulently enter into a transaction(if the method identified buyer via the buyer computer).

Preferably, the seller never receives the buyer identification means.The seller only receives the once-only transaction identification means.Because this once-only transaction identification means cannot be usedagain, a hacker who managed to obtain the once-only transactionidentification means would find it useless.

The buyer identification means is secure because it is only provided tothe transaction acquirer. It is therefore unlikely that the buyeridentification means could be misappropriated.

In one embodiment, a transaction acquirer may be available on line toenable checking of the buyers credit before a transaction proceeds. Thismay only be necessary for transactions exceeding a certain value.

Alternatively, the seller may check with the transaction acquireroff-line before providing the goods/services.

A “scheme operator” may be involved in the transaction, and may beassociated with the transaction acquirer in a similar way to credit cardscheme operators presently involved in credit card transactions.

Preferably, the buyer, seller and transaction acquirer each has accessto a buyer computing system, seller computing system and transactionacquirer computing system respectively, and communication is between theparties via these computing systems (which communicate over the computernetwork, preferably being the Internet).

The present invention further provides a system for facilitating acomputer network transaction for a product being purchased by a buyerfrom a seller, comprising a generating means for generating a once-onlytransaction identification means and associating it with thetransaction, providing means for providing the transactionidentification means to a transaction acquirer computing system togetherwith an associated buyer identification means which identifies thebuyer, and for providing the transaction identification means to aseller computing system, whereby the seller may provide the transactionidentification means to the transaction acquirer computing system andthe transaction acquirer computing system can match the transactionidentification means received from the seller computing system with thetransaction identification means associated with the buyer, and if theymatch, the transaction acquirer will settle the transaction.

The transaction acquirer computing system preferably includes a databasefor maintaining payment details of the buyer, such as credit carddetails. Preferably, payment details for a plurality of buyers who usethe system are maintained.

The generating means may be an application served by a server computerof the transaction acquirer computing system, or may be a programrunning on a buyer computing system for generating the transactionidentification means. Preferably, the generating means is a randomgenerator, arranged to randomly generate the transaction identificationmeans. Preferably, the transaction identification means is a token, andmay be a number or a token for identifying the transaction.

Where the generating means is an application served by a servercomputer, the generating means preferably automatically accesses theproviding means and provides the transaction identification means to thetransaction acquirer computing system. Where the generating means is anapplication running on an buyer computing system, the buyer computingsystem preferably accesses the providing means for providing thetransaction identification means to the transaction acquirer computingsystem.

Preferably a date and preferably a time is also generated by thegenerating means and time and date information is provided by theproviding means to the transaction acquirer computer along with thetransaction identification means.

The present invention further provides a system for facilitating acomputer network transaction for a product being purchased by a buyerfrom a seller, the system including a transaction acquirer computingsystem which includes storage means for storing a once-only transactionidentification means generated in response to a buyer computing system,the once-only transaction identification means being associated with thetransaction, the storage means also being arranged to store a buyeridentification means which identifies the buyer associated with thetransaction, receiving means for receiving from a seller a once-onlytransaction identification means, and comparison means for comparing theonce-only transaction identification means received from the seller withthe stored once-only transaction identification means, whereby if thecomparison means determines a match between the transactionidentification means, payment for the transaction may be facilitated.

Preferably, the transaction acquirer computing system also includes apayment enabling means for facilitating payment for the transaction ifthe once-only transaction identification means received from the sellerand the stored once-only transaction identification means match.

The system preferably further includes a generating means for generatingthe once-only transaction identification means. The generating means maybe an application served by a server computer of the transactionacquirer computing system, or may be a program running on a buyercomputer system for generating the transaction identification means. Thegenerating means is preferably a random generator, for randomlygenerating a transaction identification means. Preferably, thetransaction identification means is a token, and may be a number or atoken for identifying the transaction.

Preferably, the date and preferably the time of the transaction are alsostored in the storage means, associated with the transactionidentification means.

Preferably, the storage means is also arranged to store payment detailsof the buyer, eg, credit card details, to enable payment to befacilitated.

The present invention further provides a method of facilitating acomputer network transaction for a product being purchased by a buyerfrom a seller, the method comprising the steps of a transaction acquirerreceiving a once-only transaction identification means associated withthe transaction, and associating the once-only transactionidentification means with a buyer, identifier identifying the buyerreceiving from a seller a once-only transaction identification means,comparing the once-only transaction identification means received fromthe seller with the once-only transaction identification meansassociated with the buyer identifier and, if they match, facilitatingpayment for the transaction.

Preferably, the once-only transaction identification means is generatedin response to a buyer indicating they wish to purchase a product.

Preferably, the indication may be provided via buyer computing system.

Preferably, the once-only transaction identification means is randomlygenerated in response to the indication from the buyer. It is preferablya randomly generated token, such as a random number.

Preferably, the method also includes the step of associating the dateand preferably the time of the transaction with the transaction.

Features and advantages of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following description of an embodiment thereof, with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for illustrating operation of a method andsystem in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating steps in a process in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention, and

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for illustrating operation of a furtherembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a transaction acquirer computing system 3 isillustrated. In this embodiment the transaction acquirer computingsystem is a server computing system including means for serving webpages 6.

The transaction acquirer computing system 3 also includes a storagemeans, which in this embodiment comprises a database 3A. The storagemeans 3A is arranged to store a once-only transaction identificationmeans (not shown) which has been generated in response to actuation of abuyer computing system 2. The buyer computing system may be anycomputing system, such as a PC, utilised by a buyer. The storage means3A is also arranged to store a buyer identification means whichidentifies the buyer associated with the once-only transactionidentification means. Receiving means in the form of web pages 6 in thisembodiment are arranged to receive from a seller computing system 1 aonce-only transaction identification means, a comparison means (notshown, but in this embodiment includes computer software running on thetransaction acquirer computing system 3 is arranged to compare theonce-only transaction identification means received from the seller withthe stored once-only transaction identification means. If they match,the transaction acquirer computing system 3 is then arranged to enablepayment for the transaction to the seller. In this embodiment, this canbe by adjusting the credit card account of the buyer.

In more detail, the parties to the transaction, (being, seller computersystem 1, buyer computer system 2, and transaction acquirer computersystem 3) communicate with each other via the Internet 4. Each of thecomputer systems 1, 2, 3 may comprise a single PC or a network of PC'sor other types of computers, as will be appreciated by a skilled person.In this embodiment, as discussed above, the transaction acquirercomputing system includes a server computer for serving web pages 6.

The buyer computer system 2 includes a browser program B which enables abuyer to receive web pages. The seller computer system 1 is arranged tooperate as a server, providing web pages 5 for browsing, in a knownmanner. The seller computer system web pages 5 may include informationoffering products and/or services for sale via the Internet 4.

In a conventional Internet commerce system, the buyer 2 would access theseller computer system 1 web pages 5 via the browser B, review the webpages and select goods/services for purchase. The web pages 5 willusually include an area for the buyer to enter details of an account viawhich the seller can receive payment for the goods/services. Mostcommonly, the buyer is requested to enter their credit card details,which are then provided to the seller computer system 1. Subsequently,the seller may provide the credit card details to a transaction acquirer(usually a bank or scheme operator that manages the buyers credit cardaccount). The transaction acquirer will then settle the transaction bypaying the seller and requesting payment from the buyer.

The main problem with this conventional approach is that it is necessaryfor the buyer to provide sensitive information (his or her credit cardnumber) to a computer system (the seller computer system 1) which maynot necessarily be secure. If the buyer regularly engages in electroniccommerce he or she may be required to provide their credit card numberto a plurality of seller computer systems. The more widely disseminatedthe buyer's credit card details become, the more likelihood that thedetails could be misappropriated by a hacker or unscrupulous seller andused to carry out unauthorised transactions.

The present invention provides an alternative to this inadequate andrisky system.

The present invention relies on a buyer establishing a relationship witha transaction acquirer, in a similar way to the relationship which isestablished to manage a credit card. In the illustrated embodiment, thetransaction acquirer provides the buyer with a unique buyeridentification means, such as a password or ID number. Note that otheridentification means could be accepted by the transaction acquirer.Digital signatures or a unique identification of the buyer computersystem 2 may be acceptable as well.

As well as the buyer identification means, a transaction program TP isprovided. The transaction program TP may be provided by the transactionacquirer computer system and accessed via web pages 6 served by thetransaction acquirer computer system. Alternatively, the transactionprogram TP may be resident on the buyer computer system 2 as illustratedin FIG. 1.

The transaction program, TP, is arranged to generate a once-onlytransaction identification means when a buyer is engaged in atransaction over the Internet 1. This transaction identification meansis provided to the seller computer system 1. The transaction acquirercomputer system 3 also receives the once-only transaction identificationmeans, together with the buyer identification means associated with theonce-only transaction identification means. The seller can subsequentlypresent (on-line or off-line) the transaction identification means tothe transaction acquirer, who can match this with the transactionidentification means he has received from the buyer. If bothtransactions identification means match, the transaction acquirer maysettle the transaction. At all times, all the seller receives is aonce-only transaction identification means. This cannot be subsequentlyused by, for example, a hacker obtaining it, as it is only good for theone transaction. The buyer identification means is secure, as only thetransaction acquirer and the buyer need to know it.

Once the transaction has been settled, the transaction acquirer disablesthe particular transaction identification means. In a preferredembodiment, if the same transaction identification means is received,the transaction acquirer will not settle a transaction. To facilitatethe uniqueness of the transaction, information on time and date may alsobe provided to the transaction acquirer computing system, as discussedin the preamble of this document.

In more detail, referring to FIG. 2, in a transaction process inaccordance with this embodiment of the invention, at 10, via the buyercomputer system 2, the buyer logs onto the web pages 5 of the sellercomputer system 1 via browser B. The buyer selects goods/services forpurchase and advises the seller computer system 1 via entry onto the webpages 5.

At 11 the seller web page requests credit card payment details, in theconventional manner. This is usually done by providing a space on webpages 5 for the buyer to enter the credit card details, plus personaldetails.

With the present invention, however, at 12 the buyer calls up thetransaction program TP, either by “hyper linking” to web pages 6 on thetransaction acquirer computer system 3, or calling up program TP fromtheir own computer system 2. The buyer enters the buyer identificationmeans, which in this case is a password which both the buyer and thetransaction acquirer are aware of. The buyer may also enter the URL ofthe seller, the amount of money which is required to complete thetransaction.

At 13, as the transaction program has been activated by the entering ofthe password, it provides a transaction ID number. In this embodiment,this is provided by a random number generator, such as a hit counterfacility. This number is provided, together with the buyeridentification password to the transaction acquirer computer system 3.Only the transaction ID number is provided via the web pages 5 to theseller computer system 1. This can either be done by manual entry of thetransaction ID by the buyer into the appropriate space, or by theprogram automatically entering the transaction ID number into the webpages 5 and the seller computer system 1, steps 14 and 15.

The transaction program TP may also obtain other information relating tothe transaction from the web pages 5. This could be done manually ordone automatically. In this embodiment the extra information which isacquired is the identity of the seller (which may be provided by anidentity number which is agreed between the transaction acquirer and theseller subscribing to the system or may be the seller systems URL) andthe transaction amount. This information is provided to the transactionacquirer computer system. The transaction acquirer computing system 3 isalso provided with the date and time of the transaction. This mayautomatically be generated by the system, or may be input by the buyer.Preferably, it is automatically generated by the system.

The transaction acquirer computer system 3 is therefore provided withall the information it needs to identify a buyer and a transaction andto settle the transaction with a seller. The only sensitive informationused in the transaction (buyer ID) is known only by the buyer and thetransaction acquirer. The transaction ID is not sensitive because itcannot be used again, and this is the only information which is providedto the seller computer system 1.

At 16, in order to settle the transaction the seller provides thetransaction ID that they have been provided with to the transactionacquirer. This could be done via the Internet but could equally well bedone another way, e.g., by telephone, in writing, etc. At 17 thetransaction acquirer matches the transaction ID's provided by the sellerand provided by the transaction program TP, and settles the transactionwith the seller and the buyer.

The transaction acquirer may charge a commission to the subscribingseller, after the same fashion as now obtained with transactions usingcredit cards. The difference in the case of the present invention,however, is that once the transaction has been approved, the transactionID for this particular transaction would be disabled. In an embodimentof the invention, it a transaction identification means is receivedwhich is the same as a disabled transaction identification means, thetransaction will not proceed. In this case, the transaction acquirersystem includes comparison means for comparing received transactionidentification means with disabled transaction identification means.This is a further guarantee of the uniqueness of the once-onlytransaction identification means.

The transaction program may enable successive numbers to be generatedfor successive transactions while keeping open both the program and theseller web page.

An alternative embodiment of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to FIG. 3.

In the embodiment described in relation to FIGS. 1 and 2, thetransaction acquirer is shown as a single entity. In this case thetransaction acquirer may be a funds provider, such as a bank, so thatthe single entity can deal both with the security of the transaction andalso payment for the transaction by debiting the buyers account andcrediting the sellers account.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the transaction acquirer is aseparate entity (“a trust entity”) to the funds provider (which may be abank), and further communications are required to enable payment for thetransaction.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a buyer computing system 30, a trustentity computing system 31, a funds repository computing system 32 and asellers computing system 33. These computing systems may communicatewith each other via the Internet, using browsers and servers, in a knownmanner. The arrow headed lines connecting the blocks in the diagramindicate steps in the process of this embodiment of the invention asfollows:

1. The buyer computing system 30 reviews web pages provided by thesellers computing system 33 (steps 1 and 2). The buyer decides that theywish to purchase a product provided by the seller and to do this theybring up the web page of the trust entity computing system 31 (step 3).The buyer computing system 30 requests a once-only transaction numberfrom the trust entity computing system, in order to enable thetransaction, and also provides the trust entity computing system 31 withfurther details of the transaction, such as seller identification (URL)the amount of payment required, date and time and any other informationwhich may be required.

In step 4, the trust entity computing system 31 communicates with thefunds repository computing system 32 to determine whether the buyer hassufficient credit to cover the transaction. The trust entity computingsystem 31 may also require the funds provider 32 to “quarantine” thepayment amount for the transaction, so that it will not be used foranything else until the transaction is settled with the seller.

In step 5, the funds repository computing system 32 communicates withthe trust entity computing system 31 confirming or denying the creditworthiness of the buyer.

If the buyer is credit worthy, in step 6, the trust entity computingsystem 31 causes a once-only transaction number to be generated. This isassociated in the trust entity computing system 31 storage means (notshown) with a buyer identification of the buyer computing system 30. Thebuyer identification means may be a password entered by the buyer to thetrust entity computing system 31, in step 3.

In step 7 the buyer computing system 30 transmits the once-onlytransaction number to the seller computing system 33. Following on, instep 8 the seller computing system 33 transmits the once-onlytransaction number to the trust entity computing system 31, whichcompares it with the stored once-only transaction number. If thecomparison matches, the trust entity computing system 31 (step 9)instructs the funds repository 32 to pay the seller (step 10) and thetransaction is completed. The seller now provides the product to thebuyer.

In both above embodiments, the transaction identification means is arandomly generated number. In addition to the transaction identificationmeans, date and time information of the transaction is provided, as wellas a country abbreviation (so that the location of the transaction canbe ascertained), and card type (is it a credit card, a debit card, what“brand of card” etc.) is also provided, in the following format:

DATE/COUNTRY ABBREVIATION/CARD TYPE/RANDOM NUMBER (TRANSACTIONIDENTIFICATION MEANS).

Note that sellers may be kept in a sellers list by the transactionacquirer so that there is a list of sellers accessible to potentialbuyers using this invention. To participate as sellers, sellers merelyneed to ensure that their systems recognise and act on transactionidentification means (as opposed to credit card numbers). An applicationprogram may be provided to run on a sellers computing system.

In the above embodiments, the user's payment information is credit carddetails. It may be any account information, including debit cards, bankaccount, and more.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerousvariations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown inthe specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are,therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive.

The claims defining the invention are as follows:
 1. A method offacilitating a computer network transaction between at least one buyerand at least one seller, comprising: at a transaction acquirer computerin communication with a network, receiving a transaction requestgenerated at a buyer computer system via the network; generating, inresponse to the received transaction request, a once-only transactionidentifier; storing the once-only transaction identifier in a database;relating the stored once-only transaction identifier in the database tothe buyer; sending the once-only transaction identifier to the buyercomputer system via the network, receiving a seller transactionidentifier from a seller computer system via the network; comparing thestored once-only transaction identifier with the received sellertransaction identifier; and facilitating settlement of the transactionif the comparison is a match.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising, via the the transaction acquirer computer, assigning andstoring a time and date for the once-only transaction identifier.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the transaction acquirer computer storespayment details of the buyer.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thegenerating the once-only transaction identifier includes randomlygenerating a number as the identifier.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereinthe once-only transaction identifier is a token.
 6. A system forfacilitating a computer network transaction, comprising: a transactionacquirer computer in communication with a network, configured to:receive a buyer identifier for a buyer via the network; receive atransaction request from the buyer computer system via the network, andin response, generate a once-only transaction identifier, associate theonce-only transaction identifier with the buyer identifier; send theonce-only transaction identifier to the buyer computer system via thenetwork; receive a transaction identifier from a seller from a sellercomputer system and the network; compare the received transactionidentifier from the seller to the stored once-only transactionidentifier associated with the buyer; and facilitate settlement of thetransaction if the comparison is a match.
 7. The system of claim 6,wherein the transaction acquirer computer includes a database configuredto maintain payment details of the buyer.
 8. The system of claim 6,wherein the once-only transaction identifier is randomly generated. 9.The system of claim 8, wherein the transaction identifier is a token.10. A method of facilitating a computer network transaction between atleast a first party and a second party, the method comprising: at atransaction acquirer computer in communication with a network; receivinga first transaction identifier associated with a transaction, the firsttransaction identifier having been generated in response to atransaction request from the first party; associating the firsttransaction identifier with the first party in a database; receiving,via the network, from the second party a second transaction identifier;comparing the second transaction identifier received from the secondparty with the first transaction identifier associated with the firstparty; and, if first and second transaction identifiers match,facilitating settlement of the transaction.
 11. The method of claim 10,further comprising randomly generating the first transaction identifier.12. The method, of claim 10 wherein the first transaction identifier isa token.
 13. The method of claim 10, further comprising disabling thefirst transaction identifier after settlement of the transaction. 14.The method of claim 10 wherein the transaction acquirer computer storespayment details of the buyer in the database.